Step Six – Model

Young people are always watching what happens, so it’s important you can role model good online safety behaviours. Get some tips on how to role model good online safety behaviours in this section of the Online Safety Parent Toolkit. WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO ROLE MODEL Take a look at the way technology is used…

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Young people are always watching what happens, so it’s important you can role model good online safety behaviours. Get some tips on how to role model good online safety behaviours in this section of the Online Safety Parent Toolkit.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO ROLE MODEL

Take a look at the way technology is used by people in your home or whānau. Try to understand if there are patterns, behaviours or activities that might need to be rethought. Are phones used at the table? How do you talk or post online?

It can be hard to set expectations or create a Family Safe Online Treaty when you are not doing it yourself and you don’t want to be a hypocrite. Discuss some of the key safety aspects with your child, but make sure you’re doing it too. Let your child see how you are being a role model and using the five tips to help your child thrive in your own life. Check out the tips below if you need to know where to get started.

  1. Keep it locked: Passwords and pin codes help protect your child’s profiles and accounts. Set up pins and passwords – and reinforce they shouldn’t be shared with anyone except you. Get more information on how to choose a good password on our website
  2. Keep it private: Some information when shared publicly online can make your child more vulnerable to identity theft or grooming. It’s important to be cautious when sharing:
    a. Passwords
    b. Address
    c. Birthdate
    d. Bank account details
    e. School details
    f. Sharing their location on apps
    g. Personal information that can be used to guess security questions
  3. Keep it helpful: A digital footprint is the trail of ‘electronic breadcrumbs’ you leave behind online and it needs to be managed carefully. Think before you publish anything online. Once information, a Tweet, a status update or a photo is posted online, it’s almost impossible to remove completely – even if it’s later deleted or modified. Anything your child publishes can last long after they think it has been deleted and may even follow them into adulthood. Learn more about digital footprints
  4. Keep it real: It can seem like common knowledge to adults, but it is hard for children to understand that not everyone is who they say they are. It can be exciting when people want to friend, communicate or follow them. Talk to your child about invites or conversations with strangers, why this is not safe and how they should handle it
  5. Keep it friendly: Teach your child to be kind and respectful online, and to be careful talking to, or sharing information with, people they don’t know

ONLINE SAFETY PARENT TOOLKIT

You’re currently within the ‘Model’ section of our Online Safety Parent Toolkit where we encourage you to display behaviours that children look up to and copy.

This is the sixth step in our seven step framework designed to help parents and whānau with digital parenting in a rapidly changing world. We recommend reading through each step of the Toolkit as this will guide you on how to support your child to confidently access digital opportunities and reduce online harm.

CONTACT NETSAFE

If you’re concerned about the immediate safety of you or someone else, please call 111. If you want help or expert incident advice, you can contact us. Our service is free, non-judgemental and available seven days a week.

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